Today Coadec and The Entrepreneurs Network (TEN) publish a plan to enable tech startups to turbocharge the UK’s economy. Our new manifesto sets out the levers the new Prime Minister can pull to make this happen. They aren’t exhaustive – but they are critical.
Tech startups have been the British economic success story of the past decade: the UK’s tech community, just a footnote a decade ago, is now the heart of the British economy.
That means effective Government backing for startups matters now more than ever. Startups are facing a funding crisis – valuations cut, hiring freezes imposed and investment drying up. And the UK as a whole has a macroeconomic crisis, a cost of living crisis and an uncertain growth path for years to come.
The next Prime Minister will have to face up to these challenges. We believe the best way to address this will be to tackle them together. By supporting the UK’s great entrepreneurs and startups, the new Prime Minister wouldn’t just be transforming our tech ecosystem, but our country’s economic prospects too.
This means delivering on Government policy that helps the startup ecosystem take the next big step in its journey, and committing to smash down the barriers that prevent these companies from thriving.
To help a startup founder anywhere in the UK, from any background, who has the right idea and mindset to attract the capital they need to build their business.
To create a scaleup funding environment that allows Britain to move from building £5bn companies to building £50bn companies.
To deal with the bureaucracy that prevents firms hiring the best talent possible to grow their businesses.
To create a regulatory environment refocused on the core needs of our economy’s most innovative and dynamic players.
To turn good intentions from the government into real action on innovation that propels our very best companies onto an even faster growth trajectory.
Whatever happens to our economy and startup ecosystem in the coming months, there is no going back to a time when the startups our organisations work with are an economic sideshow.
British startups can, should, and will be centre stage in any successful British economic strategy in the months, years and decades to come.
The new Prime Minister should, and we hope will, do everything in their power to support them.